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November 10, 2005
Constructing our public self
Three fascinating art/sociology projects explore how people construct their ''public'' self through the astoundingly popular Flikr photo-sharing web site. The two German design students suggest that Flikr provides a public platform for the intentional construction of personal identity through photographs. Says the web page:
This is a series of three projects investigating what constitutes the self. It questions the relationship between self-perception (a passive concept of the self) and active construction of identity. It tries to identify the methods, motivations and paradigms underlying both concepts, yet clearly focusing on the latter.
Among the projects: ''egoshootr'' (a mini set where users could stage and photograph a fake memory), ''fixr'' (a web site that lets users describe important moments in their life that weren't photographed), and ''mirrr'' (a photo series of Flikr users wearing T-shirts with the most common keyword tags they used to describe their posted photos).
The projects wonderfully underscore what most of us already know: that we curate the arts objects and experiences of our lives not just for personal pleasure, but in the conscious construction of our public self. Just as we choose what to wear each morning with an eye toward how the world will see us, we also attend the arts and adorn our spaces with things that help others know who we are (or want to be).
Great stuff. Go see it.
Photo: Sascha Pohflepp and Jakob Schillinger (cc) 2005
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